The Lost Sister
by Majin Magus
Summary: Magus searches for Schala, and unravels an even bigger plot...


The Lost Sister

_ A Chrono Trigger Fan-Fiction by Majin Magus_

Magus surrounded himself inside a barrier and dove into the water again. The fish scattered the moment he crashed through the surface. Magus's search for Schala continued, as it had been three months since he had left Crono and the others.

Magus saw a wing of green-gray metal. It was undoubtedly from the Blackbird. He remembered well the day Ayla, Frog, and Robo had used the Epoch to send it wheeling down into the sea.

"Perhaps I might find a trace of something…" Magus said aloud. He dove deeper, his barrier still strong. The body of the Blackbird was whole; the exterior not cracked even a bit. 

Magus tore open the door, and water rushed into the plane. After entering the wreckage, the lights flickered on. Magus floated along the mostly abandoned corridor. The bodies of Dalton's ninja flunkies lined the walls, and all had some kind of slash or scar. 

Using a Dark Bomb, Magus blasted open a door that was labeled 'Navigation Archives.' It was surely full of maps and schematics. Perhaps some were of the Ocean Palace. 

"Schala…" Magus said quietly. "Someday I will find you!" Magus tore apart the rusted doors of the map cabinet. And as the doors fell to the floor of the compartment, there was nothing inside.

"YARRRGGHH!!" Magus yelled, frustrated. He destroyed the cabinet with one sweep of his scythe. He exited the room to find a Basher standing the middle of the hallway, waist deep in water.

"Who intrudes into the Kingdom of Dalton? Speak now, shrouded one!" The ninja slowly took his staff as he waited to hear Magus's answer.

"I have no time for your insolence." Magus replied hotly. A wave of electricity spread across the water and killed the Basher. Magus turned off his barrier. 

"The Kingdom of Dalton? Hmm…perhaps that fool was not killed." Magus mused. He headed toward the cockpit of the Blackbird. There was no more interference from Bashers, or any beast of any kind.

On his way to the cockpit, Magus encountered a small treasure chest. Kicking it open, it revealed nearly 50,000 gold pieces. Magus took the money, and headed on. 

After about half an hour of treading through the luminous corridors, Magus reached the cockpit. He blasted it open with Fire 2 (Magus cast it above the water level so the spell still worked) and entered. 

On a large green throne sat Dalton. Many Bashers and Lashers, and some other beasts that must have found their way here when the Black Dream crashed surrounded his chair.

Dalton had turned a slight shade of green, probably from living down under the water for so long. He looked Magus straight in the eye, and jerked his head toward the door. Ten Bashers stepped forward.

"Defeat my mercenaries, and you shall be allowed to have counsel with the great King Dalton!!" Dalton cried, with the Bashers getting into battle positions.

"Honestly Dalton! You must have lost a bit from being inside the other dimension!" Magus called, but prepared a spell nonetheless. He cast Black Hole, which swallowed up all the Bashers and Lashers in the room. Dalton looked surprised but not alarmed.

"Dark one, you have earned your counsel. Speak!" Dalton said. Magus stepped forward mockingly.

"I did not come down to the floor of the ocean to _seek your counsel!! _Fool. I am not here for advice or guidance. I am here to search for the Daughter of Queen Zeal," Dalton rose slightly at this, "Schala!"

"Who do you think you are? Schala is no one to be sought out by a mere commoner! Besides," Dalton smirked at Magus. "She went down with the Undersea Palace, or rather, up!!" 

Magus leapt forward and put the blade of his scythe to Dalton's neck. "Since you know that, you must know something else." Magus grinned maliciously.

"I know nothing!" Dalton cried. He tried to squirm free but Magus held him down tight. "All right. But first, tell me who you are!!"

Magus lowered his scythe. He stared at Dalton, and then, disappearing and reappearing in the air, he spoke.

"I am Magus." He called to Dalton, who projected a look of puzzlement on his green-tinted face. Magus floated down and then scowled at Dalton. He turned to leave.

Dalton suddenly burst out with laughter. "Ha haa ha! Magus…ha! I now know who you are! That face you made…without a doubt, you are Janus!" Magus swerved.

"So, you can think! And now that you have so _cleverly _deduced my name, what shall you do?" Magus laughed, then turned again.

"I may be a bit out of practice…" Dalton stood up and jumped off his throne. "But my magic's as strong as ever!!" Magus snorted at this.

"You challenge me! Fool…you shall die slowly with pain running throughout your body!" Magus began concentrating on his strongest spell, Dark Matter.

"Wa ha haaa!! You forget, dear Janus, that you have not a speck of magic in you! I don't know how you got here, but it wasn't by magic!" Dalton laughed. He seemed to have forgotten when Magus cast Black Hole. 

"Watch this!!" Magus cried. He pointed at Dalton, who was laughing wildly. Dark Matter hit him, and the black and white triangles disintegrated his body.

"Idiot." Magus left the Blackbird. 

"Well, that was a pointless trip." Magus said aloud. He planned to head to the Last Village to recuperate, for his magic was drained. 

Landing in the commons, he did not get much of a stir from the gathered people, they were used to him by now. Magus came there when his powers were weak. As he walked towards the hut that was like an Inn, a small purplish cat came up to him and meowed.

"Hello." Magus responded, and walked into the hut. The Elder, startled at the sight of him, partially jumped up from his seat. 

"Greetings. Your power is low again?" the Elder asked Magus, although none of the times he had been recuperating in the village he never told the Elder his name.

"Yeah." Magus replied. The Elder began to walk out, but stopped in the doorway. The old man turned slowly around to see that the purplish cat had walked in and sat beside Magus, who was leaning on a wall, blinking heavily.

"Uh, sir…?" The Elder asked. Magus's eyes flashed open. "Zat your cat?" Magus looked slowly down at the purple cat, which was mewing affectionately.

"Found 'im washed up after the Ocean Palace disaster…no Earthbound or Enlightened One knew who he belonged to." The Elder mentioned.

"He belonged to me…once." Magus said in a low voice. The Elder raised an eyebrow interestedly. 

"Which would mean…which would mean you've been here before you started whatever you're doing now!" The Elder realized. 

Magus sighed sleepily. All he needed was another raving lunatic figuring out that he was Janus, and that he was searching for Schala. 

"Hmm…" The Elder left, and Magus slept. The cat walked out disappointedly. 

Hours later, an Enlightened One stepped into the hut. She saw Magus leaning against the wall, sleeping. 

The woman, whose name was Kappa, stared long and hard at the sleeping traveler. The Elder came in behind her. 

"No one knows who he is." The Elder whispered hoarsely. "He comes here from time to time, to heal his magic power."

"Magic?" Kappa asked, surprised. "He can do magic? How? Zeal fell that day…and no one can do magic without the power of Lavos…" 

"Don't ask me how…but I do recall he was with some others the day the Ocean Palace disaster struck, and he was there when the Black Dream rose." The Elder concluded, leaving the hut. Kappa stared at Magus, and then she edged forward nervously.

It was at that moment that Magus chose to awake. His fierce gaze automatically froze on Kappa. She shuddered frightfully, for she sensed an aura full of hatred and sorrow…with ebb of Dark magic…

"Um…hello…" Kappa stammered. Magus stood upright and walked out the door. She watched him as he made his way silently to the North Cape. 

"I'll follow him." Kappa said aloud. She cautiously followed Magus. After watching him look out upon the water, she saw him surround himself in a black orb and dive into the water. Kappa started back to the Commons to tell the Elder of what she had seen. 

"Nosy girl…" Magus muttered, emerging in an underwater cave. "I'll deal with her later." As he stepped forward, Magus noticed a large treasure chest to his right. He walked to it.

As Magus opened the large chest, a splash was heard. Quickly, Magus grabbed what was inside and whirled around.

Standing there were Crono and Ayla. They both looked frustrated. Magus stole a glance at the object he was holding. It was a Star Scythe. Throwing his old scythe away, the new blade glistened in his hand.

"Nice find. They sell for lots of money." Crono said. "Fancy finding you here, Magus. We have been searching for you…"

"Why?" Magus growled. He wasn't about to be torn from his search now that Lavos had been killed. He had no desire or reason to go ripping through time.

"There're some things we need fixing and you are the one to help." Crono motioned for Magus to come. 

"Do you think that I'll just ABANDON what I'm doing here? I destroyed Lavos, so I am through with time traveling!!" Magus yelled.

Crono and Ayla got into battle positions. Magus then noticed there was a throbbing black light along where their hair met their foreheads. 

"So…you are not coming willingly, eh? Your choice…ATTACK!" Crono yelled. He launched into a Confuse attack while Ayla jumped up to perform a Rollo Kick. 

"You won't take me!" Magus called. Quicker than any of them, Magus launched his most powerful attack…Dark Matter. It missed Crono, but struck Ayla. She fell.

"TREASON!" Crono shouted. His Rainbow sword showed pale glistening light in the dark cave. With a flash, Magus had a thin line of blood flowing from his left arm, right below the elbow.

Magus had grown strong, so he did not notice this. And with a single sonic movement, Crono lay on the cave floor, mangled from a Dark Bomb.

"Do not hurt them further!" A voice cried out. The Zealen girl, Kappa, was gasping for breath by the surface of the pool. She got up then and walked over to Crono. Magus collided with her, sending her reeling into a stone.

"They seek your help! Do you not heed their beckon? Lest you continue your vain search!" Kappa cried. In the blink of an eye, Magus's Star Scythe was in his hand, and inches away from Kappa's throat.

"My search is not in vain, foolish one! It is your coming to this cave that is in vain. As soon as I settle with you, these weaklings are next!!" Magus said, then Kappa dove back in the pool. 

"I _knew _that would work. Enlightened Ones. Cowards to all stronger than they." Magus muttered. He left the cave and went up to the surface. He then floated through a dark portion of the sea. He was off the coast of the cave-island with the Gate in it. 

"What the…" Magus whispered. An eerie pink was far off in the murky water. He went towards it immediately. 

"Elder! Elder!" Kappa called. The old man looked at her and the rest of the occupants of the commons stared.

"Yes Kappa?" The Elder asked.

"The traveler! Two of his companions came and…he destroyed them! I saw it!" Kappa gasped. She looked at the Elder.

He shrugged. "We are not concerned with the affairs or problems of others, Kappa. He had his reasons."

This hadn't had the effect Kappa expected. "But his aura! I've felt it before!" She cried, speaking more to the Enlightened Ones. "He is the Prophet!"

"You mean the one that betrayed Queen Zeal and tried to destroy Lavos?" An Enlightened One called out.

Kappa nodded furiously. "Yes! The same!" She gasped again. "And…he is searching for someone! I believe the person he is searching for…is…most assuredly…Princess Schala!"

Magus swam faster and faster towards the pink light. He could see the faint facets of a crystal. Could it be? Here all the while? It couldn't be…Schala?

The Enlightened Ones stared. Then one Earthbound One spoke. "Miss Schala? That magician is searching for her? Why?"

Kappa had been waiting for this question. Waiting for the chance to propose her suspicion. She had guessed the magician's name. Guessed why he was searching for Schala.

"I believe…not sure, but probably…this man who comes so often to replenish his energy…is Prince Janus!" Kappa said. There was silence.

"But Prince Janus was pulled into a portal!" the Elder exclaimed. 

"Yes…but the features! His Zealen blue hair…the dark power somewhat from Lavos! It can be no one else!" Kappa said.

"I think you may be right…" The Elder whispered.

Magus reached the crystal. He saw nothing, only faint shadows and wisps of a being. Then…

"Help!" A ghostly voice cried out. For a split second, a girl appeared inside the crystal. 

"SCHALA!!" Magus yelled. He drew back, and threw his Star Scythe at the crystal. It exploded into shards, but something was inside the debris.

It was Schala. Magus swam down and brought her to the North Cape. She gasped and healed herself with her powers. Then, after a long time, Schala looked into Magus's eyes.

"Thank you. But why do you rescue me, Prophet?" Schala asked. Magus sighed. He had been expecting this. He drew in a breath then responded,

"Schala. I am not the Prophet, my true is…well, it is I. Janus." Magus said softly. Schala first looked skeptical. Then she stared at him for a full twenty minutes. Magus was patient.

"Oh…Janus!" Schala leaned forward and embraced him. And, for the first time in a long time, Magus smiled a true smile. 

"Schala! I have searched for you…ever since Lavos sent me to 600 AD!" Magus said. Schala looked at him.

"That was not so long ago…but I have seen you before. You were the Prophet! You betrayed Mother to try and destroy Lavos." Schala smiled. She embraced him again. Magus pulled away a bit.

"Honestly, Schala, I did not kill him because of Mother. I killed him because of what he did to me. He sent me to the 7th century AD. I was forced to lie and kill many." Magus smiled like he was recalling something. "Ozzie, Flea, and Slash. They followed me. I was known as the Wizard King."

Now it was Schala's turn to pull away. "Wizard?" she asked. 

"Yes. Watch." Magus stood up and summoned his Dark magic. He flew up into the air about fifty feet. This alone surprised Schala. Even she could not fly. 

"DARK MATTER!!!" Magus yelled. His voice echoed to the Last Village. He aimed for a large glacier one hundred yards away. The triangles formed and the glacier exploded. He floated down.

"Your powers exceed mine! Where did you learn such techniques?" Schala said. Magus laughed a bit.

"I _would _have had powers like yours; Light magic, not unlike Crono… but powers reflect souls. Yours are light and good, mine are dark and evil…I had to kill so many…I was consumed by revenge. I killed and killed until one night I was about to call Lavos to my castle. Three showed up, with this sword called the 'Masamune.' It's Light powers cut through mine and I was blasted to this era…" Magus smiled at Schala. 

"I saw two things I wanted. I wanted to complete my revenge, and I wanted to be with you Schala. I killed Dalton not long ago. The Last Villagers…they suspect me being Janus. I expect they shall mock and try to kill me…" Magus grinned at the village not too far off. 

"I've found you at last, but some do not know me as Janus. Most know me as Magus." Magus said. 

"Oh…brother! I care not about your past. When you unveiled yourself in that portal with Lavos, I knew I saw something familiar. You do, of course, look almost the same." Schala looked into Magus's eyes. Then she said,

"There is something troubling you now, even at your journey's end. What is it?"

"Crono and Ayla." Magus admitted. 

"Who? You have mentioned this Crono in your tale." Schala asked.

"You have seen him. They came to the Ocean Palace and Crono was destroyed. Guru Gaspar helped us resurrect him. Something controls them. I confronted them and almost killed them. I was too driven then." Magus sighed. "Far in the future we destroyed Lavos together. In 1999 AD."

"Maybe I can heal them? My power has grown a bit weak, but you are strong." Schala smiled. She knew Magus would like to hear that. 

Magus smiled too. "Then come. I know they will go to the Last Village eventually. Their Time Machine is there. Let's go." He held out his arm and Schala gripped tight. Magus flew up and went toward the village.

The Villagers almost died of shock when Magus returned with Schala. 

"It's Janus!"

"He's found Miss Schala!!"

"Princess Schala!" 

Magus rolled his eyes towards Schala to signify his patience was running thin and that he didn't like being called Janus.

"Peace…" She whispered to him. 

"So! Here at last!" A voice called. Magus looked up, eyes burning. There stood Crono and Ayla, still with the ebbing at their heads.

Ayla grinned. "We know you come. You and sister. Crono say." She did an action that no one understood. Only Magus. He had seen it hundreds of times. She was preparing a Triple Kick.

"Yes. Now come with us. Both of you!" Crono sneered. He readied a Luminaire. 

"What are they doing Janus?" Schala cried as Magus jumped up into the air. 

"Attacking! And call me Magus!" He yelled down, summoning a Dark Matter. The Villagers were dumbfounded. They simply watched. 

"HYYYYYY-YAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Magus yelled. "DARK!!! MATTER!!!" He aimed exactly at Crono and Ayla, neck and neck, coming straight at him. Seconds before impact, they swerved.

"FALCON!!!" Crono yelled and he looked at Ayla. She grinned back. 

"HIT!!!!" Ayla cried. The ebbing on their heads grew faster. Crono crossed over to her, dodging the Dark Matter. She tossed him in the air. He whipped his Rainbow out.

"YAAAH!" Magus cried in fury. He had backed away, but a thick streak of blood emitted from right below his ribs. He floated down a bit. He drew his cape back, rage in his eyes.

"Magus! No!" Schala cried. He ignored her.

He summoned all his strength and aimed a Dark Matter precisely at the panting Crono's forehead. He was too weak! There was no way he could escape and Ayla had collapsed into the sea. 

"RRRRRRRRRRAAAAHHHH!!" Magus yelled. A pair of triangles appeared the size of a large city. They floated over Magus. He shot them point-blank at Crono.

"**DARK MATTER!**" Magus yelled in voice that echoed through the Village.

He launched.

The triangles swarmed Crono. Destroying his molecules one by one. Magus was angry. He had willed Crono this slow painful death. 

The spell was cast, and Crono was disappearing, slowly. Schala came up on the other side of Crono. Magus flinched. Was it possible she could and would stop his spell? Even if she did, Crono was still dead.

"Get down, girl!" Magus shouted. He hated the way she looked at him, but he didn't care. "This is NOT your battle!!" He sped up the Dark Matter. Up to Crono's waist was gone now.

"It's my battle too, brother." Schala whispered. She used her powers to contradict Magus's. It did not work, and she fell down while trying to think of a more powerful spell. Kappa caught Schala quickly. Kappa saw a Blue-White door open suddenly. A frog hopped out. His name, of course, was Glenn. 

"I knew we should have destroyed Magus! Nay, thou will not escape, villain!" Glenn jumped up. He hovered, but only by sponging off Crono's dying powers.

"Magus! Stand and deliver!" Glenn shouted. Magus turned toward him an inch. He smiled evilly.

"Back again amphibian? Come to destroy me, like your little friends? Come on. I can take three at once!" Magus jerked his head toward the sea. Ayla was regaining energy.

"Crono and Ayla? Thou doth killed them?" Glenn asked, rage welling up.

"No. They attacked me. Can't you see that idiot down there? I'm killing him only because he tried to kill me!" Magus indicated Crono, who had lost everything from the shoulders down. 

"Crono is this true? Does Magus tell the truth?" Glenn asked Crono. Crono shot a vicious look at Magus.

A black shield of energy surrounded Crono and restored his body. The ebbing at his forehead was growing steadily slower. He quickly flashed up right in front of Magus.

"You shall serve my master soon enough, Magus!" Crono then lost the ebbing at his forehead and was blown through a materializing portal.

"Magus! Come back!" Glenn yelled. The wizard didn't listen. He landed with a loud crack and grabbed Schala from Kappa.

"Monster! Look what you did to your own sister! I wouldn't expect this of _you_ Prince Janus!" Kappa yelled after Magus, who had started to fly. 

Instantly, Magus whirled around. His eyes had blood red veins forming at the edges. He summoned all his energy and focused it at the girl, who was struggling to get away.

Schala squirmed in her brother's arms. "No! Stop!" Schala cast a shield around Kappa and she quickly stumbled towards the Last Village.

Magus flew to an island far away from the main continent. He lay Schala down and stood at the cliff peak. 

Schala sat up and looked at her brother with tears in her eyes. "Jan…err, Magus…" She asked, not expecting an answer.

"I had no idea I was this terrible. I had no idea until after I had slain Ozzie. Ah, Ozzie. He was so loyal." Magus was now more talking to himself.

"All those innocent lives I sent my army to kill. All the hope and good I destroyed. How I killed Cyrus and left his friend Glenn in that frog form." Magus looked back at Schala over his shoulder. "Don't sound like I'm going to have much of an afterlife, eh?"

"Oh Magus! Please! Just stop killing!" Schala sobbed. Magus shook his head. Then he grinned sorrowfully. 

"I am sorry beloved sister. It is far too late for me. My soul has given itself up to Evil. And…WHAT!" Magus swerved. He took off and flew into the air. Then he turned.

"Please, leave me out of it!!" Schala called. To her dismay, Magus threw his head back and laughed a cold laugh. 

"Dear sister, you intervened with my business last time, so no doubt, leaving you or not, you will do so again! Come with me now!" Magus pointed at Schala and she flew up to his left arm. He grabbed her wrist and they flew off the main island. Landing softly on the North Cape, Magus left Schala there.

"I can't believe I didn't see it!" Magus muttered to himself. He stopped at the Last Village. A glistening purple and black portal fluxed in the exact middle of the village. 

"Right here all along! The ebbing at Crono and Ayla's foreheads! What Crono said before his death…it originated here! I must destroy it!" Magus yelled in fury. He began to blast Dark Matter, but Schala summoned most of her powers to protect the Village. 

Magus floated there, panting and sweating from the extreme strain such a powerful Dark Matter had caused. Schala was secretly teleporting all the Last Villagers to a safe haven while her brother was raging.

"ARRRGHHH!!!" Magus shouted. He then started to shoot wave after wave of Dark Mist at the portal, Schala blocking them all. After many blasts, Magus fell exhausted to the icy ground.

"Magus! Magus!! MAGUS!!!" A voice pierced the darkness and Magus's eyes opened. He saw Schala, now that she had woken her brother, casting a healing spell on his arm, which was now broken.

"Uh…" Magus winced as the wound closed. Then Schala looked at him with such a stare he felt a tiny pang of guilt for the first time in a long time. 

"I barely was able to get the villagers out of there! They are the future race, they must survive." Schala frowned at him.

Magus didn't seem to care about the Last Villagers. "That portal!! It leads to a dark world. A slight variation of color in it, but I am positive it leads to the Golem's world!"

Schala frowned and furrowed her brow. "Dalton's beast?" she asked.

Magus nodded in agreement but waved his right hand in an impatient manner. "Yes, but it is not the Golem. A dark force has the ability to take over any creature's mind and heart. Like it did to Crono and Ayla." He paused for a moment.

"I have come to believe that the force is individually living, for Crono's ran and saved him from death…not purposely I believe. It must have sent him back to him home. Ayla I expect was released as well. This dark force could take over both of us." Magus shut his eyes. He wanted to block out the fact that this force could easily slip between his magic and take him.

"Then we must stop it! At any cost!" Schala glanced at the portal. She looked at Magus, who, despite the healing, still looked exhausted. _Of course. _Schala thought. _His magic ability can only be replenished by sleep._

"Rest now, dear brother. This foe can wait." Schala whispered. Magus stood up. 

"No…evil doesn't rest…so neither should I." Magus then grinned, but without any real emotion. "I should know…I'm evil, aren't I?" He stepped towards the portal, but fell down into a deep sleep.

Schala laughed softly. "Even the evil must take a time out, brother." She lightly stroked Magus's long blue hair, and then she fell asleep as well. 

Magus awoke at night. He blinked a few times. Where was the castle? Ozzie, Slash, and Flea…Magus then shook his head. All his thoughts and memory came back.

Schala was over by the portal, trying to close it. She must have noticed her brother was awake, because she said,

"I think you shall be needing some new armor." Schala sighed, as if she was against weapons, which she was. She waved her hand and three chests appeared. Magus eyed them, then his sister.

"Your friend Ozzie's treasure." She said. Magus kicked all three open. Inside one was a Doom Sickle. It had a black shaft and then a steel connector. On the top was a slightly curved blade. It was for applying a painful final blow. The scythe itself was a wicked curved thing. Instead of being stretched out, it curved more than normal. It was a lot more advanced than the Star Scythe, but Magus had been using it with boredom. Now he grinned maliciously as the evil weapon glistened new in his hands.

A Gloom Helm and a Gloom Cape were in the other chests. Donning them, he felt his power and defensive strength increasing greatly. He handed his old Moon Armor and Prism Helm to Schala. She put them on.

"I know they aren't much protection against _this_ enemy, but they'll help with any mercenaries we encounter." Magus said, taking on a little bit of his former character as a leader of a strong force.

"Affirmative, Wizard King." Schala replied with a soft giggle. Magus looked at her. She folded her arms across her chest.

"Oh, come on. You don't remember telling me?" Magus threw his head back and laughed a true laugh. He smiled at her. His face was alight. Schala smiled back. She knew she was helping him to come out of his evil rut.

"Shall we go, Wizard King?" Schala smiled. Then Magus reached inside her cloak and pulled out two shining gold medallions. He gave one to Schala. She looked back at him quizzically.

"Gold Studs. They won't drain your magic powers as much. Seventy-five percent less, I believe. It helps when I face an exceedingly…strong enemy." Between 'exceedingly' and 'strong' Magus shuddered. Schala knew he meant Lavos. 

"Now we are ready…wait. Don't you need armor?" Magus asked. Schala still wore only her Zealen robes. She laughed, and then out of nowhere a Prism Dress appeared. 

"I took it from your warrior friend before she fell." Schala was now clad in the best armor you could have. They stepped into the portal.

It was dark-gray. There were only islands made of black brimstone to walk on. Below, if you should be unfortunate to fall from the small islands, a fire raged that would incinerate anything that got within a few yards of the inferno. There was one thing. The fire was light gray.

Magus's expression hardened. "Not very cheery is it? Looks like hell to me. Except it isn't red." He muttered. He gestured for Schala to hold on to his arm. She clutched tight.

"We had better fly. We don't want to risk falling into that fire." And so they flew into the blackness, with Schala muttering about the colors of everything here.

They came to land on a large island. There was an oasis with metal palm trees (Schala had never seen a palm before so she wondered where it came from, Magus however had seen such a palm in 65,000,000 BC) and a spring of red water. Schala had just knelt down to drink when Magus stopped her.

"The only time water turns red is if you pour blood in it." Magus stated, as if that was the only possible way it could be red.

Schala wove her hand around irritably. "Nothing else here is the right color, so why should water be?" She drank and Magus waited for danger with his Doom Sickle.

"Can we continue now?" Magus asked sarcastically. Schala rolled her eyes and held on tight. They flew at an accelerated speed. 

"I can feel the power growing stronger!" Magus roared as they flew. His words were ripped from his mouth by the speed. Schala nodded then she nudged him to make him stop. They halted in midair.

"What Schala?" Magus asked gently. Schala was shaking. Her hair waved around a bit. A tremor ran through Magus. He was shaken.

"No…it can't be!" Magus yelled. Schala nodded, her hair now cascading violently around her. Magus's long blue hair was doing the same.

"The Black Wind…" They said together. Magus stared into Schala's eyes with his fierce, battle-hardened face. Schala stared back.

"But…is it for us or for that evil power?" Magus asked. Schala looked back at her brother and shook her head. 

"Even we, who feel it when ever it gives the smallest iota of a breeze, cannot tell for sure. Especially this time, when there are two evil forces clashing." Schala broke free of her brother's gaze. She hated to think of him that way.

"Right. Let's get going." Schala held on to his arm and they both charged up for the final confrontation.

The queen of the Golem World was not that powerful. She sat on a black throne and wore a red dress. She commanded her minions, called Omegas. They were black things that hung in the air. They had two antennae and five tentacles. Omegas had no distinguishable bodies, and could not speak.

"You failed to deliver the dark mage Magus to me? Be gone worthless creature!" The queen, though not overall powerful, destroyed the Omega with a blink of her eye.

"These Omegas…they dare to fail me! Me! Queen Mace of the Golem World!!" Queen Mace screamed. A perfectly round Omega approached her. It asked her in its way of speaking.

"Infest the sister…yes…go ahead. Do not fail me, Omega P87!!" And so the Omega, named P87, departed to infest Schala.

"Evil…danger…Black Wind!" Schala gasped. She had fallen from Magus as they flew. He had encased her inside a barrier and brought her to a brimstone isle.

"Rest now." Magus took out Mid Tonic and had his ailing sister drink it. Magus went over to the blood-red oasis, which seemed now to be on every other island. He cast a purifying spell on it, but it remained the same. 

P87 darted in and out of the fire, which never even singed him. He saw Schala sleeping there. Her brother was feet away. The Omega quickly forced itself through Schala's skull and into her brain. P87 did not allow his tentacles to show on her forehead, but only the slightest faint ebbing in the whites of her eyes. 

_What are you doing in my head? _Schala asked the creature. P87 explained. Only inside a creature's head could Omegas speak.

_I have come to take your brother to my Queen, Mace. _

Why? I hate to speak so about my brother, but you will never survive. Schala warned. She then quickly explained everything that had happened to her. By the end of her tale, P87 was a completely different Omega.

_That…that tale is true? Yes…I can sense you'd never lie about that. This changes everything! We must stop Queen Mace! I never thought taking creatures' minds was a sin…but now I see that it is. _P87 remarked. It left Schala mind and went into the fire.

Magus then returned. What had seemed like an eternity to Schala was nothing more than fifteen minutes. 

Her brother scowled, but it was in a joking way. "I guess there's nothing in this water. I used every spell I know…what's wrong?"

"Hmm? Oh nothing." Schala replied, snapping out of her gaze. He eyes flash the way the Omega had gone. "Let us continue on that way." Schala pointed in the direction. 

Magus looked at her quizzically. "Okay, you're the boss." He grinned. They began to fly again. 

"WHAT!!" Mace roared. P87 backed away. "YOU HAD HER THEN LET HER GO! IDIOT! DIE!!" Mace shot a black lightning bolt at P87. The Omega flashed out of its way. Then Mace summoned V45, a cunning warrior Omega. V45 had a jagged outline and spiky tentacles. This Omega was not afraid of any creature, or so he thought.

"I need you…to infest thing creature, V45." Mace called up a picture of Magus, who Doom Sickle in hand, was slashing at things left and right. Then the picture used Dark Matter.

V45 was afraid of this opponent. This would be his hardest mission yet. But he would rather die than show fear in front of his mistress. He was just about leave when,

"SO YOU ARE THE ONE!" A voice roared. It was Magus. He was hovering in the air, Schala clinging to his left arm, with a vein throbbing in his forehead. V45 flew up to him and attempted to infest him.

"I think not!" Magus chanted to summon Dark Matter. He shot the Shadow magic at V45. V45 dodged and the two began to spar. Mace watched and Schala jumped to a black island. 

A slight tap turned Schala around. P87 hovered there, smiling at her by forming a mouth shape with his tentacles. 

"Come." Schala whispered. P87 enter her mind.

_You're injured! _Schala cried within her mind. P87 gave a mental sigh.

_Yes, Queen Mace was not as understanding as I thought. _P87 then scowled from his place in Schala's brain. Schala laughed and used a self-healing spell. P87 was then fully healed.

_Thank you kind one. I am sorry I could not help more, but…oh! V45 is trying to take your brother!! I shall stop him! _P87 cried. The Omega prepared to exit when Schala said

_No…he can take care of himself. _Schala gave a mental smile to P87. 

"Yah! DARK BOMB!!" Magus roared. He blasted the sphere of wild dark energy at V45. He dodged quickly and trying to infest the dark mage. He failed for Magus, faster than the speed of sound, smothered the Omega with Dark Mist. V45's antennae were torn off. A tear had appeared in his spiky form. An oozing gray silvery blood dripped and gushed from all parts of the Omega.

V45 rushed at Magus. Magus was taken by surprise, for he did not expect the weak V45 to attack so soon. The Omega forced Magus down to an isle. He was halfway through Magus's skull now. Mace had floated up to sneer at the seemingly defeated magician. 

"Enjoy life as a slave, dark one!" Mace laughed. She grinned and watched calmly as the Omega V45 wrestled his way into Magus's head. Magus's eyes flashed in fury. Then his expression turned calm and concentrated.

Mace snickered, for she thought Magus had given up. Magus was summoning power, and he used an incantation he had not used for a long time.

"Neuga, ziena, zieber, zom…

Now the chosen time has come…

Exchange this world for…!"

Magus's eyes burned black with hatred. V45 had halted half and inch out. Mace's triumphant mood vanished. 

"GET IN THERE NOW!!!" she bellowed. She knew what Magus was up to, but it was too late. 

"ULTIMATE SHADOW FORCE!!" Magus roared. A great black spiral surrounded him. It whirled at a speed beyond comprehension, for this was a fraction of Magus's inner powers given form. The spiral engulfed V45 and tore him apart. The black power almost ripped P87 out of Schala's mind, but she held on with all her strength. 

"ULTIMATE SHADOW FORCE! I SUMMONED YOU FOR ONE PURPOSE! THE DESTRUCTION OF ALL MY ENEMIES!! ENGULF THEM, DESTORY THEM, AND LEAVE NOTHING BUT FRAGMENTS OF THEIR BODIES!" Magus yelled, his body radiating a power never felt in this world or the next. He currently had enough energy to destroy anything in the universe. 

"MY RAGE IS THE DRIVER! THE REASON I EXIST IS TO DESTROY AND CONQUER!! NOW, ULTIMATE SHADOW FORCE…KILL!" Magus focused all the energy on the Golem World. An invisible amount of power hit the very make-up of the dimension. He kept Schala and himself safe from his own energy. Nothing else in the Golem World would survive.

_Schala…thank you for letting me die in peace. _P87 said sorrowfully. Schala moaned in pity and despair for the Omega. 

_My brother's rage, his power, I believe, even though this is catastrophically strong, I do not think he has reached his limits. Let every living thing hope he never does. _Schala whispered. The Omega was ripped out of Schala's brain and evaporated in the immense well of energy.

"Schala…Schala…" A voice called. Schala's eyes opened. She was on her back on the North Cape. Magus smiled at her and looked out on the ocean.

"How long have I…?" Schala asked quietly. She had the feeling she didn't really want to know. 

Magus smiled sadly. "A month. I was out for only a week." Despite the involuntary rest they had gotten, Magus looked tired and worn. There were dark circles under his eyes and his arms hung limp.

"What happened? I saw your power…" Schala looked at her brother, and instead of smiling proudly, he turned his head away with a bitter look on his face.

"That…that's the first time I've ever lost control like that. I gave into insanity and rage. I honesty didn't think I had the power to summon the Ultimate Shadow Force. I had heard of it, sure. Of the dark power which was the very essence of evil, of the force so indescribable, usually the Mage was destroyed along with it." Magus bared his teeth and looked at Schala again.

"I read some history books in 600 AD. They told of ancient Zealen magicians being blown up by an immense power. I shall surrender this power…the ultimate power in the universe…for you, Schala. For you my beloved sister, I will not become immortal." Magus whispered. Schala leaned forward and took Magus in a tearful embrace.

Schala sighed happily and watched as the Last Villagers came out the hiding place she had made for them. "I think we should help them. Because if you lived in the future…" 

Magus nodded. "Then there would be no humans to oppose the Mystics and then no Crono to destroy Lavos…yes. We must protect them." Magus watched as the sun set over the still icy waters. "To preserve my future and the planet's future." 

Both brother and sister went over to the Last Village and offered their help to the villagers. They wholeheartedly agreed and Schala and Magus helped to defend the future and to ensure the defeat of the infamous immortal, Lavos.

The End


End file.
